Today's Idols

As I will share on The Meeting House, the top-ranked "modern-day idol" in a recent survey of pastors is comfort.  In other words, I would interpret that to mean that for some, the search for comfort supersedes the search for God. 2nd Corinthians 1 states:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

Certainly, people are drawn to "the good life."  Worldly wealth, a care-free life, a perfect family with 2.3 perfect children.  We want things to go our way all the time.  And, the lesson of the last three years is that there will be disruptions in our lives; that has cause, it seems, a sense of unrest in the hearts and minds of people.  Fact is, the comfort we are seeking in the world is a mirage.  God doesn't offer us comfort in the worldly sense, but He does comfort us internally when the externals are spinning out of control.

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As Moses delivered what we know as the 10 Commandments, we see a strong upholding of the exclusivity of God in our lives, as well as a denunciation of idols. In Exodus 20, we can find these words:
2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Interestingly enough, Moses descended the mountain from having received these commandments nnd observed that the people of Israel were found to be worshiping an idol - a golden calf.  

But, idols can come in different forms and fashion, and a new Lifeway Research survey shows which ones respondents gravitated toward.  The question was posed to American Protestant pastors, "What modern-day idols have significant influence in U.S. churches?"

The top five answers were given by almost 50% or above of those who were surveyed.  Success weighed in at 49%, at number 5.  Number 4: approval, at 51%.  The number 3 answer was money, mentioned by 55% of respondents.  At number 2, it was control or security, at 56%.  And, the top answer, related by 67% of survey participants: comfort.

Also, according to the survey summary, social influence was close behind success, at 46%. The summary stated, "Nearly 2 in 5 say political power (39%) is an idol their congregants face, and nearly 1 in 3 say sex or romantic love (32%)."

Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell states: "In many ways, the top three idols pastors recognize in their churches are related. Comfort and security draw the hearts of the most congregations, but they are often enabled by the pursuit of more money,” adding, “Pastors of higher socioeconomic levels are quicker to recognize the influence of security and control while pastors of lower socioeconomic levels more readily see the draw of comforts.”

Not only was comfort mentioned by the largest number of pastors, but the largest percentage of pastors believe it had the most influence on congregations today, with 30% indicating that.  20% of pastors said control or security were the most influential, and 13% said money.

Larger churches tended to reflect a desire for social influence, while among churches with younger pastors, control or security, followed by political power, were the most commonly mentioned.

The Bible does not promise a life in which we are always comfortable, but Paul describes God as the "God of all comfort" in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1.  Is that a paradox?  Not at all - we can seek out the life of what has been called, "ease, comfort, and pleasure," and find it does not satisfy: it becomes an idol to us.  But, if we shift our focus to the abundant life in Christ, we can experience a sense of His satisfaction and our emphasis will be on the right things.

The issue of control and/or power also arises here - another high-ranking idol.  We can consider this: To whom are we looking to control our lives?  We can become so desirous for control that we attempt not only to seize the authority over our lives away from our Savior, but we can attempt to subject others to our perceived control.  We have to make sure that we are not seeking to wield undue control over other people, even through political or social control.  You may get a rush from being able to make someone else do what you want them to do, but the motivation is wrong.  The Bible instructs us to humble ourselves - before God and others, so that we can display His presence.